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Abstract:

A game system that can offer motivation promoting participation to
players is provided. An information processing device accepts an
investment instruction to specify any of plural game players as an
investment-target player from an investor player and records a play
result of a game by the investment-target player. Furthermore, the
information processing device decides investment performance of the
investor player according to the play result of the game recorded about
the investment-target player specified by the investor player.

Claims:

1. An information processing device comprising: an investment instruction
accepter that accepts an investment instruction to specify any of a
plurality of game players as an investment-target player from an investor
player; a play result recorder that records a play result of a game by
the investment-target player; and an investment performance decider that
decides investment performance of the investor player according to the
play result of the game recorded about the investment-target player
specified by the investor player.

2. The information processing device according to claim 1, further
comprising: a play right giver that gives a game play right to the
investment-target player according to the investment instruction.

3. The information processing device according to claim 2, wherein the
play right giver transfers a game play right given to the investor player
to the investment-target player according to the investment instruction.

4. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the
play result recorder records play results of a plurality of kinds of
games played by the investment-target player, and the investment
performance decider decides the investment performance of the investor
player according to the play results of the plurality of kinds of games.

5. The information processing device according to claim 4, wherein the
investment instruction accepter accepts the investment instruction
together with specifying of a title of a game or a genre of a game, and
the investment performance decider decides the investment performance of
the investor player according to a play result recorded through play of a
game of the specified title or genre by the investment-target player.

6. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein every
investment object period that is repeatedly set, the investment
performance decider decides the investment performance of the investor
player according to a play result recorded in the investment object
period.

7. The information processing device according to claim 6, wherein the
investment performance decider decides the investment performance of the
investor player according to investment period information indicating how
long the investor player has consecutively invested in the
investment-target player repeatedly.

8. A control method of an information processing device, comprising:
accepting an investment instruction to specify any of a plurality of game
players as an investment-target player from an investor player; recording
a play result of a game by the investment-target player; and deciding
investment performance of the investor player according to the play
result of the game recorded about the investment-target player specified
by the investor player.

9. An apparatus comprising a non-transitory, computer readable storage
medium containing a program and a microprocessor executing the program
for causing the computer to execute actions, comprising: accepting an
investment instruction to specify any of a plurality of game players as
an investment-target player from an investor player; recording a play
result of a game by the investment-target player; and deciding investment
performance of the investor player according to the play result of the
game recorded about the investment-target player specified by the
investor player.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable information storage medium that
stores a program for causing a computer to carry out actions, comprising:
accepting an investment instruction to specify any of a plurality of game
players as an investment-target player from an investor player; recording
a play result of a game by the investment-target player; and deciding
investment performance of the investor player according to the play
result of the game recorded about the investment-target player specified
by the investor player.

Description:

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device
that configures a game system in which plural participant players
participate, a control method thereof, a control program thereof, and an
information storage medium that stores the program.

BACKGROUND ART

[0002] A game platform in which plural players can participate and enjoy
various kinds of games is known (refer to e.g. PLT 1).

CITATION LIST

Patent Literature

[0003] [PLT 1] Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2010-088694

SUMMARY

Technical Problem

[0004] In the above-described game platform, it is desired that many
players frequently participate over the long term and continue to play
games. For this purpose, it is preferable that the game platform not
merely enables game plays but can offer a wide variety of ways of
enjoyment to a wide variety of players.

[0005] The present invention is made in view of the above-described
circumstances and one of objects thereof is to provide an information
processing device that can offer motivation promoting participation to
players, a control method thereof, a control program thereof, and an
information storage medium that stores the program.

Solution to Problem

[0006] An information processing device according to the present invention
includes an investment instruction accepter that accepts an investment
instruction to specify any of a plurality of game players as an
investment-target player from an investor player, a play result recorder
that records a play result of a game by the investment-target player, and
an investment performance decider that decides investment performance of
the investor player according to the play result of the game recorded
about the investment-target player specified by the investor player.

[0007] A control method of an information processing device according to
the present invention includes a step of accepting an investment
instruction to specify any of a plurality of game players as an
investment-target player from an investor player, a step of recording a
play result of a game by the investment-target player, and a step of
deciding investment performance of the investor player according to the
play result of the game recorded about the investment-target player
specified by the investor player.

[0008] A program according to the present invention is a program for
causing a computer to function as an investment instruction accepter that
accepts an investment instruction to specify any of a plurality of game
players as an investment-target player from an investor player, a play
result recorder that records a play result of a game by the
investment-target player, and an investment performance decider that
decides investment performance of the investor player according to the
play result of the game recorded about the investment-target player
specified by the investor player. This program may be stored in a
computer-readable information storage medium.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0009] FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a game system
according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0010] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of an information processing
device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0011] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing one example of a game play right table.

[0012] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing one example of an investment table.

[0013] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing one example of a game table.

[0014] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing one example of a play result table.

[0015] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing one example of an investment
performance table.

[0016] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing one example of a screen that displays
ranking information of game play performance.

[0017] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing one example of a screen that displays
investment performance.

[0018] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing one example of a screen that displays
detailed information relating to the play performance of a certain game
player.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0019] An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail
below on the basis of the drawings.

[0020] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a game system 1 according to
one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the game
system 1 is configured to include a management server (information
processing device) 2, plural client devices 3, and a game server 4. The
client devices 3 are terminal devices used by participant players P who
participate in a game platform implemented in the game system 1, and may
be e.g. game consoles for home use, portable game machines, smartphones,
personal computers, etc. Each client device 3 has an operation device
used by the participant player P for operation input and a display screen
that displays various kinds of information.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 1, the management server 2 is configured to
include a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, and a communicating unit
13.

[0022] The control unit 11 is a CPU or the like and executes various kinds
of information processing in accordance with a program stored in the
storage unit 12. The storage unit 12 is configured to include a memory
element such as a RAM and stores the program to be executed by the
control unit 11 and data as a processing target of the program. In the
data stored by the storage unit 12, the content of various kinds of
tables to be described later are included.

[0023] The communicating unit 13 is a communication interface such as a
LAN card and the management server 2 performs transmission and reception
of data with each of the plural client devices 3 and the game server 4
via the communicating unit 13.

[0024] The game system 1 according to the present embodiment provides the
participant players P with a game play function and a function of
investment in game players. The game play function is a function to
execute an online game and this function allows the participant players P
to play and enjoy a game offered by the game system 1. The game offered
by the game system 1 may be plural kinds of games. Hereinafter, the
participant player P who plays a game will be referred to as a game
player GP. Moreover, in the present embodiment, by the investment
function provided by the game system 1, the participant player P can not
only enjoy a game play as the game player GP but also invest in the game
player GP. Hereinafter, the participant player P who invests in the game
player GP will be referred to as an investor player IP. Hereinafter, it
is assumed that the game player GP and the investor player IP are
different persons for convenience of description. However, the
participant player P can take stands of both the game player GP and the
investor player IP.

[0025] The game server 4 is an information processing device that provides
a function of play of an online game and executes processing of a game
played by the game player GP. The client device 3 communicates with the
game server 4 and thereby the game player GP plays the game executed by
the game server 4 through the client device 3. Here, for convenience of
description, it is assumed that the game server 4 executes all of the
processing of plural kinds of games implemented in the present
embodiment. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not
limited to such a configuration but plural game servers 4 may each
independently process different kinds of games from those of the other
game servers 4. This allows plural game vendors to each independently
provide the game server 4 and let the game players GP play a game offered
by the game vendor.

[0026] Functions implemented by the management server 2 will be described
below by using a functional block diagram of FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2,
the management server 2 is functionally configured to include a game play
right manager 21, an investment instruction accepter 22, a play result
recorder 24, an investment performance decider 25, and a result
displaying controller 26. These functions are implemented through
execution of the program stored in the storage unit 12 by the control
unit 11. This program may be stored in various kinds of information
storage media such as an optical disc to be provided to the management
server 2 or may be provided to the management server 2 via a
communication network such as the Internet.

[0027] The game play right manager 21 manages information on a game play
right R given to each participant player P. The game play right R is a
necessary right for the game player GP to play a game offered by the
present game system 1. The game play right R is managed in a unit of the
play time or the number of times of a play, for example. Hereinafter,
suppose that the game play right R is managed as a ticket conceptually
and the game player GP can play games according to the number of tickets
possessed by this game player GP. For example, the game player GP can
play a game for a certain time (or a certain number of times) every time
consuming one ticket. The play time or the number of times of a play of a
game permitted per consumption of one ticket may be decided for each kind
of game.

[0028] Specifically, when accepting a request for a game play from the
game player GP, the game server 4 makes an inquiry to the management
server 2 about whether or not to permit the play. In this inquiry,
information to identify the game player GP who requests the game play is
included. The game play right manager 21 that has received this inquiry
checks whether the requesting game player GP possesses a ticket and
returns a response indicating that the game play is not permitted if the
game player GP does not possess a ticket. On the other hand, if the
requesting game player GP possesses a ticket, the game play right manager
21 returns a response indicating that the game play in a certain range is
permitted and executes processing of reducing the number of tickets
possessed by this game player GP. This allows each game player GP to play
games in an available range depending on the tickets possessed by the
game player GP. Suppose that, in the present embodiment, the game play
right R is necessary in common to play all of plural kinds of games
offered by the game server 4.

[0029] The game play right manager 21 gives the game play right R to each
participant player P in accordance with predetermined conditions. For
example, the game play right manager 21 may give a certain number of
tickets to each participant player P every certain period and may give a
certain number of tickets to the participant player P who logs in the
game system 1 in a predetermined period. Furthermore, tickets the number
of which corresponds to the amount of charge may be given to the
participant player P who is charged. The game play right R may be managed
as tickets of kinds different for each acquisition method. For example,
the game play right manager 21 may regard a ticket provided for free and
a ticket provided according to charging as different kinds of tickets and
manage the numbers of these tickets.

[0030] FIG. 3 shows one example of a game play right table that stores
information on the game play right R managed by the game play right
manager 21. In this game play right table, regarding all of the
participant players P, information to identify the participant player P
(player ID) and the number of tickets possessed by this participant
player P are stored in association with each other.

[0031] The investment instruction accepter 22 accepts an investment
instruction from the investor player IP. The investment instruction
includes information that specifies any of the plural participant players
P as an investment-target player. In the present embodiment, the object
of the investment in the investment-target player is the game play right
R (ticket). The investment instruction may include information on the
amount of investment (here, the number of tickets) indicating how much
the investment is made into the investment-target player. When accepting
an instruction to invest in the game player GP from the investor player
IP, the investment instruction accepter 22 transfers as many tickets as
specified by the amount of investment among the tickets possessed by the
investor player IP to the game player GP as the investment target. This
allows the investor player IP to offer tickets not to be used to the game
player GP other than this investor player IP instead of playing a game
for oneself by using the tickets possessed by this investor player IP.
Meanwhile, the game player GP receives the investment from the investor
player IP to increase the number of tickets possessed by this game player
GP and thereby can play games more. Regarding the amount of investment
(the number of tickets) specified in the investment instruction, the
minimum number and investment unit thereof may be set. Furthermore, in
the case of managing the tickets as tickets of kinds different for each
acquisition method, the kind of ticket that can be used for investment
may be limited.

[0032] FIG. 4 shows one example of an investment table that stores the
content of investment instructions accepted by the investment instruction
accepter 22. When accepting an investment instruction, the investment
instruction accepter 22 assigns an investment ID to identify the
investment on the basis on this investment instruction and adds, to the
investment table, a record in which the player ID of the investor player
IP, the player ID of the investment-target player, the amount of
investment (the number of tickets), an investment object period, and an
initial investment timing are associated with this investment ID. The
investment object period is automatically decided according to the timing
when the investment instruction is accepted. Furthermore, the initial
investment timing indicates the timing when the first investment is made
in the investment-target player when the investor player IP consecutively
continues the investment in the same investment-target player. This
information is used for calculation of investment period information to
be described later.

[0033] Every time the game player GP plays a game, the play result
recorder 24 records the play result (play performance) of the game. Here,
suppose that the play performance of the game executed by the game server
4 is represented by points (numerical value) irrespective of the kind of
game. The higher the points are, the better the play performance of the
game is. How much points are given to what kind of play is individually
decided for each kind of game. For example, in the case of a match-up
game in which a match with another game player GP is played, points may
be given through a win over the opposition. Furthermore, in the case of a
game in which players compete on the play time to beating the game,
higher points may be given when the play time is shorter. Every time the
game player GP plays a game in a range permitted through one ticket, the
game server 4 transmits point information indicating the play result
thereof to the management server 2.

[0034] FIG. 5 shows one example of a game table that stores a list of
games executed by the game server 4. As shown in FIG. 5, in the game
table, regarding each of the games executed by the game server 4,
information to identify the game (game ID), the title name of the game,
and genre information of the game are stored in association with each
other.

[0035] FIG. 6 shows one example of a play result table that stores
information on the play results of games recorded by the play result
recorder 24. Every time receiving the point information indicating the
result of a game play by the game player GP from the game server 4, the
play result recorder 24 assigns a play result ID to identify the play.
Then, the play result recorder 24 adds, to the play result table, a
record in which information to identify the game player GP (player ID),
information to identify the title of the game (game ID in FIG. 5), the
play start date and time of the game, the play end date and time of the
game, and won points indicating the play result of the game are
associated with this play result ID. Furthermore, the play result
recorder 24 may record a moving image showing how the game was played
(play moving image). This play moving image may be a moving image
representing the content of a game screen displayed on the display screen
of the client device 3 used by the game player GP when the game player GP
played the game for example.

[0036] The investment performance decider 25 decides the result of the
investment made by the investor player IP (investment performance) every
certain period (e.g. one week). In the present embodiment, every
investment object period repeatedly set, the investment performance of
each investor player IP is decided depending on the play performance of
games played in the investment object period by the investment-target
player selected as the investment target by the investor player IP. That
is, when the play performance recorded as the result of plays of games by
the investment-target player in the investment object period is higher,
the investment performance of the investor player IP who has invested in
this investment-target player becomes higher. Here, suppose that the
investment object period is one week and suppose that, every week, the
investment performance about the investment made in the previous week is
decided depending on the play performance of the investment-target player
in this week. That is, the investment object of the investment
instruction accepted by the investment instruction accepter 22 is the
predetermined investment object period starting after the acceptance
timing of this investment instruction, and the investment performance is
decided according to the play performance of the investment-target player
in this investment object period.

[0037] Here, a specific example of the method for deciding the investment
performance will be described. Every time the investment object period
ends, the play result recorder 24 tallies points won by each game player
GP in the investment object period that ends, and decides a ranking (rank
order) thereof. In response to this, the investment performance decider
25 gives higher investment performance to the investor player IP who has
invested in the game player GP at a higher ranking level. For example,
the investment performance decider 25 gives a medal of kind according to
the rank order of the investment-target player, specifically gives a gold
medal to the investor player IP who has invested in the game player GP at
the first place in the point ranking and gives a silver medal to the
investor player IP who has invested in the game player GP at the second
place.

[0038] Moreover, the investment performance decider 25 may use, for the
decision of the investment performance, investment period information
indicating how long the investor player IP has consecutively invested in
the same investment-target player repeatedly. In this example, if an
investment-target player achieves play performance not lower than
predetermined performance in the investment object period, the investment
performance decider 25 determines since when the investor player IP who
has invested in this investment-target player has consecutively continued
the investments. For example, suppose that the investor player IP invests
in the same investment-target player for N weeks consecutively and this
investment-target player achieves play performance not lower than certain
performance in the investment object period of the N-th week. In this
case, the investor player IP whose value of this N is larger is evaluated
to get better investment performance compared with the other investor
players IP. By applying such an evaluation criterion, the investor player
IP is motivated to discover the game player GP who seems to achieve good
performance in the future and continue investments in this game player GP
from a stage where this game player GP has not yet attracted attention.

[0039] FIG. 7 shows one example of an investment performance table that
stores the investment performance decided by the investment performance
decider 25. In the example of this diagram, information to identify the
investor player IP (player ID), investment performance (here, the kind of
medal), and the timing when the investment performance is decided
(information to identify the investment object period) are stored in the
investment performance table in association with each other.

[0040] In the above-described example, the points of the play results of
all games offered by the game server 4 are tallied and the investment
performance is decided according to a ranking thereof. However, the
method for deciding the investment performance is not limited to such a
method. For example, the investment performance decider 25 may decide a
ranking of the won points of the game players GP for each game genre and
decide the investment performance of the investor players IP according to
this ranking. In this case, a medal is given to the investor player IP
who has invested in the game player GP who has achieved good performance
in a certain genre although having low total points. Furthermore, the
investment performance may be decided according to the numerical value of
the total of the points won by the investment-target player. In this
case, the investment performance of the investor player IP who has
invested in plural investment-target players is decided depending on the
total value of the points won by these investment-target players.
Furthermore, if the performance of the game executed by the game server 4
is represented by not points but wins and losses, the investment
performance may be decided according to the number of wins or the number
of consecutive wins of the investment-target player.

[0041] In response to a request from each client device 3, the result
displaying controller 26 transmits, to the requesting client device 3,
information relating to the play performance of the game players GP and
the investment performance of the investor players IP. The client device
3 displays the information received from the result displaying controller
26 on the display screen to present the information to the participant
player P who uses this client device 3. This allows each participant
player P to know who the game players GP who have achieved excellent game
play performance and the investor players IP who have achieved excellent
investment performance are. The investor player IP can consider which
game player GP to select as the investment target by viewing ranking
information of the game play performance of the game players GP.
Furthermore, because the investment performance is disclosed, the
participant player P who cannot get good performance in the game play by
oneself can also enjoy, as the investor player IP, the pleasure of
competition for the investment performance through investing in the game
players GP who are good at the game play.

[0042] Specific examples of various kinds of screens displayed on the
display screen of the client device 3 by the result displaying controller
26 will be described below by using the respective diagrams from FIG. 8
to FIG. 10.

[0043] FIG. 8 shows one example of a screen that displays ranking
information of game play performance. Here, a ranking of won points in a
certain investment object period is displayed from the first place
sequentially. In the example of this diagram, the rank order of the total
value of points recorded about all games is shown. However, the ranking
is not limited thereto and a ranking made on each game genre basis and a
ranking made on each game title basis may be offered to the participant
players P. Furthermore, not a ranking of all of the participant players P
but a ranking of part of the participant players P satisfying a specific
condition may be displayed. Specifically, a ranking of the participant
players P who started use of the present game system 1 in a recent
predetermined period (newcomer ranking) and a ranking according to a
profile of the participant players P (gender-specific ranking,
age-specific ranking, etc.) may be displayed. Furthermore, a ranking may
be displayed about each of the kinds of client devices 3 used by the
participant players P. In addition, a ranking of a period different from
the investment object period for decision of the investment performance
(e.g. day-by-day ranking) may be displayed. Moreover, corresponding to
the game player GP at a high ranking level, an advertisement of a company
that sponsors this game player GP may be displayed.

[0044] FIG. 9 shows one example of a screen that displays investment
performance. In the example of this diagram, together with a ranking of
the game players GP, the investor players IP who have invested in the
game players GP at high ranking levels are displayed in association with
these game players GP. Furthermore, rewards given to each of the game
players GP and the investor players IP are also displayed. In association
with the investor player IP, investment period information indicating how
long this investor player IP has continued investments in an
investment-target player may be displayed.

[0045] When operation of selecting one of the game players GP displayed on
the screen of FIG. 8 or FIG. 9 by a user is carried out, detailed
information relating to the play performance of the selected game player
GP may be displayed. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing one example of a screen
that displays such detailed information relating to the play performance
of the certain game player GP. In the example of this diagram, a graph
showing the time transition of won points and various kinds of
information relating to the play performance are displayed. For example,
the frequency of login to the present game system 1, the account creation
date, the last login date, the genre ratio of played games, the genre
ratio of won points, rewards won thus far through winning of a high
ranking level, and so forth are displayed. Furthermore, information
relating to received investments may be displayed, such as the number of
times of investment reception thus far and the length of the period for
which the state in which the investment is received from any investor
player IP has continued (information on the investment-received period).

[0046] Moreover, in the example of FIG. 10, a link to play moving images
of games played by the object game player GP in the past is disposed in
the screen. When selecting this link, the user can view the play moving
images of this game player GP. This allows the investor player IP to
determine whether or not to invest by actually viewing play moving images
of the game player GP. Furthermore, in the example of FIG. 10, an
investment decision button is included. When selecting this button, the
user can immediately invest in this game player GP as the investment
target.

[0047] After deciding the investment performance every investment object
period, the investment performance decider 25 may provide rewards to the
respective investor player IP according to the result of the investment
performance. For example, the investment performance decider 25 may give
the game play right R (ticket), other rights, money in the game system,
etc. to the investor player IP who has achieved excellent investment
performance. Furthermore, the play result recorder 24 may give a reward
such as the game play right R (ticket), other rights, and money in the
game system to the game player GP who has achieved excellent game play
performance according to the recorded play result. As a specific example,
every time the investment performance decider 25 decides the investment
performance at the elapse of the investment object period, the game
player GP at a high level in the play performance of the same investment
object period may be given tickets the number of which corresponds to the
rank order. Furthermore, the reward to the game player GP may be decided
depending on whether or not the game player GP has received an
investment. Specifically, a larger reward may be given to the game player
GP who has received an investment and achieved good performance than to
the game player GP who has achieved equivalent performance without
receiving an investment.

[0048] The game system 1 according to the present embodiment may offer
statistical information and so forth helpful in an investment
determination to the investor players IP and the participant players P
who provide information to the other investor players IP. Specifically,
the game system 1 may offer, for value, information that is helpful in
deciding an investment destination and is not opened to the public
normally, such as information relating to the amount of charge of each
participant player P and information relating to match performance with
the specific opposition, which is not represented in mere game play
performance.

[0049] Embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the
above-described one. For example, in the above description, the investor
player IP simply specifies only the game player GP to make an investment
instruction and the investment performance is decided according to all
game play results of this game player GP in the investment object period.
However, the configuration is not limited thereto and the investor player
IP may invest by specifying conditions such as the game title or game
genre of the investment object besides the game player GP. In this case,
the investment performance is so decided that only the play result of a
game meeting the specified conditions is deemed as the object.

[0050] Furthermore, in the above description, the investor player IP can
select the investment-target player without limit. However, limits may be
set on the number of investor players IP who can concurrently invest in
one game player GP and the total value of the amount of investment when
one game player GP is concurrently selected as the investment target. In
this case, for example if a certain number of investor players IP invest
in the same investment-target player on a first-come-first-served basis,
the other investor players IP become unable to invest in this
investment-target player more. This can motivate the investor players IP
to discover the game player GP before becoming popular and invest in this
game player GP ahead of the others.

[0051] Furthermore, in the above description, the game server 4 executes
game processing. However, the management server 2 may execute also the
game processing itself. Moreover, the client device 3 used by the game
player GP may execute the game processing and the game management server
2 may acquire the game play result from the client device 3 and decide
investment performance. If the game processing is executed in the client
device 3, the client device 3 does not necessarily need to be connected
to a network and may execute the game processing offline while the game
player GP is playing the game. In this case, the client device connects
to the network after the end of the game play or every certain time to
transmit the game play result to the management server 2. Furthermore,
the management server 2 may make an inquiry to only the client devices 3
used by the game players GP who have become the investment target and
acquire the play results thereof. This allows the management server 2 to
decide investment performance without acquiring game play results by all
of the client devices 3.